


Your Teeth In My Neck

by TheSwingbyJeanHonoreFragonard



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Amusement Parks, Cat/Human Hybrids, Denial of Feelings, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Mating Bites, Modern Royalty, Science Fiction & Fantasy, the cat hybrid space prince jeno au no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25975075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSwingbyJeanHonoreFragonard/pseuds/TheSwingbyJeanHonoreFragonard
Summary: Donghyuck has been the prince's personal companion and bodyguard since he was old enough to clench his fists. He takes this bodyguard gig a bit too seriously. So seriously, in fact, that he guards his own heart from one of the most serious threats of all: love.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno, Lee Taeyong/Moon Taeil, Mark Lee/Na Jaemin
Comments: 9
Kudos: 176
Collections: NOHYUCK FEST: 정답!





	Your Teeth In My Neck

**Author's Note:**

> Written for NOHYUCKFEST!
> 
> The prompt is as follows: #JD013 Person A is a prince who has grown up with person B. person B is the son of the captain of the guardsmen, and, as such, is appointed as the official guard for prince A. But person B is a scaredy-cat so it ends up being person A who constantly protects him in their adventures together.
> 
> Note 1: Donghyuck's look is inspired by the Neo Zone concept pics.  
> Note 2: I took the scaredy-cat bit of this prompt a taaaad literally.

It’s kind of obvious that Jeno is royalty when you look at him.

Sure, he’s got the princely posture and he looks damn good in the palatial purple robes but, truly, it’s all in the imperialistic, upward tilt of the corners of his eyes, the tourmaline iridescence of his irises, the sheer vertical size of his cat ears and the silky quality of the fur on his long tail. He’s a rare, pure-blooded Nebelung through and through and only members of the royal family have claim to such a mighty, alien pedigree. Literally alien. There are legends that, long long ago, the breed came to this moon in a meteor shower and even Donghyuck can easily admit (just not out loud) that Jeno looks like he’s _out of this world_.

So maybe that’s why it throws Donghyuck for a bit of a loop that all Prince Jeno has to do is wear one of Donghyuck’s plain white t-shirts, a pair of almost too-short denim shorts and then stick on a goofy-looking bucket hat to hide his ears and, just like that, his royal status becomes unrecognizable to the common cat. 

In fact, when they walk next to each other, _Donghyuck_ is the one who stands out like a Martian on Jupiter despite Jeno’s ridiculous (well, ridiculous for him -- it’s all about context) get-up. But that’s only because Prince Jeno did not tell Donghyuck where they were going when they snuck out of the palace this time. 

So Donghyuck wore his finest dress shirt, tie and slacks…

… to an amusement park.

At least they are on the cool side of the moon and the wind is strong so Donghyuck isn’t sweating his way through his nice clothes.

Sometimes blessings are really tiny.

The two of them saunter down the crowded and colorful market street where all the facades of the buildings are brightly painted and the architecture is a hodgepodge of stuff you’d usually find on Mercury, Old Earth _and_ Saturn like the park designers couldn’t decide who most to appeal to. Everyone is dressed for a casual and colorful weekend and not a single soul stops and stares and gapes and bows like they should in the presence of royalty, Donghyuck internally laments. Sure, Jeno technically isn’t next in line for the throne, but he’s _still_ royalty! Where is the respect?

But maybe there is some relief in their anonymity.

Maybe.

Because, like, if everyone _did_ know that Jeno was royalty, Donghyuck’s job as bodyguard would be a million times harder right now.

Donghyuck tries to relax.

Tries.

“We shouldn’t be out here,” Donghyuck says for what feels like the hundredth time in the past hour. “If Taeil or Taeyong find out that we’re here…” Donghyuck trails off and shivers from his ears to his tail at just the threat. “You should be at home where it is safe, not out here where--”

Jeno puts a finger across Donghyuck’s lips. “Shh,” he shushes with a gentle smile and then he goes back to perusing the colorful crafts, gemstone rings and beadwork necklaces an old, gray-furred merchant has for sale. 

“I think the two of you might be interested in this.” The woman reaches out a long-clawed hand towards Jeno and Donghyuck snaps into action. His own hand snakes out and clamps down around her cold, wrinkly fingers before she even gets close to touching Jeno.

She gasps and looks up at him.

“Donghyuck,” Jeno says quietly. “She’s not attacking me.”

“How do _you_ know,” Donghyuck whispers back, baring his pointy teeth.

Jeno does that thing where he looks at Donghyuck like Donghyuck means more than the world to him. Beneath the greenish-yellow midday sky and the bright orange cotton candy clouds, Jeno’s purple eyes sparkle with years and years of accrued fondness. “Like this.” He smiles, reaches out a hand and pries Donghyuck’s fingers off of the old cat. Then Jeno lifts his head to look at her. “Please continue.”

Although she watches Donghyuck warily out of the corner of her yellow eyes, she reaches across the table towards Jeno in order to pick up a long, braided cord adorned with feathers. “For his hair,” she tells Jeno and then places the cord on the prince’s upturned palm.

Jeno suddenly turns around to face Donghyuck and before he knows what is happening, Jeno is fastening the cord around Donghyuck’s head. Nimble fingers tuck Donghyuck’s hair away from his eyes as the cord is pulled tight at the back of his head. The feathers add a colorful touch to Donghyuck’s dark, curly hair and their length accentuates the tiny braids Jeno wove into his hair while they waited in line for admission tickets.

Too late, Donghyuck picks up on how closely the two of them stand. So close he can feel Jeno’s chest against his own. He inhales too sharply and gets a nose full of the scent of Jeno's subtle cologne and catches on to how milk-sweet Jeno’s breath smells in the lack of air between them. Beneath all of that is Jeno’s all-too familiar scent. Warm and sugary sweet like baked treats fresh out of the oven. Whipped cream and caramel and lemon zest. Donghyuck reaches up a hand to grab Jeno’s wrist and keep him from completing the knot that’ll tie the cord around his forehead. “I don’t need this,” he insists.

He doesn’t need the cord to tie the hair out of his face.

He doesn’t need the rare bird feathers tickling his neck or the base of his ears.

He doesn’t need Jeno’s soft and velvety smooth hands getting tangled in his wild hair.

He doesn’t need Jeno’s mouth so dangerously close to his own.

He doesn’t need any of it.

“Okay,” Jeno says. He places the long cord back on the table and spends several moments straightening it out so that it neatly aligns with the dozens of other decorative cords up for sale. He looks up at the merchant. “Do you have anything else?”

Donghyuck relaxes. Or tries to. 

The crowd is loud and noisy. There’s several different kinds of music playing from at least three directions. The delighted cries of small kittens echo into the air as one of the carnival rides starts up. One of the roller coasters thunders past on the other side of the buildings. Donghyuck grits his teeth from the sensory onslaught. It’s a far cry from the quiet and oddly comforting _emptiness_ of the ornate palace halls. Donghyuck isn’t used to this. He’s not used to having so many cats around. Being a bodyguard is so much easier when your days consist of nothing more strenuous than escorting your charge from one tutoring session to the next. 

Here is different. 

They’re… _outside_. 

And outside without permission on top of that! 

Donghyuck feels so on edge. So tense. He can’t even concentrate on the conversation Jeno and the lady have. He can’t even process the items she holds up for Jeno to judge. Donghyuck wants to go back to the palace too bad to enjoy this little bit of freedom Jeno has stolen for them. The fur on his tail stands on end and he scrunches up his nose as if he still has his baby whiskers. 

Any second now, Donghyuck expects _someone_ nearby to be able to recognize Jeno despite the shadow of the bucket hat that falls over his face. Can’t they tell he’s royalty? Can’t they feel it in their bones when they look at him? When is someone going to lean in really close, recognize Jeno from all of his holoscreen appearances and makeup brand endorsements and non-fiction book covers and then start a mob to try and get his autograph? 

Donghyuck worries about this. 

The possibility is slim but he worries worries worries. 

He narrows his eyes and looks from side to side, trying to spot anyone who even _looks_ like they’ll ask for a signature.

And maybe Jeno senses his anxiety because he reaches back and touches Donghyuck’s hand with his own. Not quite holding it. He’s not that brave. He just touches it. A gentle reminder, kind of. Warm fingers held against warm knuckles. And, there, a brief spark of eye contact. A smile.

And it helps. The warmth _soothes_ and Donghyuck relaxes.

“Why not buy these?” The merchant cat makes an aggressive attempt at an upsell when she notices they’re still browsing. That they haven’t yet left. 

Donghyuck and Jeno both turn to look at her.

She says, “These gems are made from the ripples of comet tails and signify a bond that can never be broken, even if pulled taut across the length of the galaxy.” She points to a row of earrings. Four of them. Two pairs. They are all slightly different in the way that only handmade things can look but they are beautiful all the same. The earrings are thin silver metal that’s been twisted and bent to mimic the curlicue shapes of Pluto vines and the flashy finery wraps tight around claw-sized jewels so icy blue in color that Donghyuck shivers just looking at them. The merchant continues, “The jewels resonate when they are close to each other. That is how you know they are authentic.” Her wizened fingers nudge one pair of earrings closer to the second pair of earrings on the table. Donghyuck watches with astonished eyes as the four jewels glow from the very inside, like a warm fire has been ignited in their depths. A few breaths pass and the icy blue jewels turn as bright a red as storm clouds. Then the old woman pushes the jewelry apart again and the color of the jewels ices over quickly. She says, “It represents love that can only build and grow.” She looks from Jeno to Donghyuck and then back to Jeno with a bright smile.

Jeno’s eyes alight. “I love them.” Probably because of where he comes from, but he has always been interested in things that originate off-planet. Stars. Comets. Suns. Other solar systems. If he could somehow collect them all and store them on the shelves of his bedroom, he would.

She says, “I doubt these earrings will find better buyers than you two.”

It dawns on Donghyuck that this woman mistakenly thinks that the two of them are a pair. Embarrassment colors his cheeks. “Oh, no no no.” He points to himself and then to Jeno. “We’re not mated. We can’t--” He waves his hands wildly.

“They’re beautiful,” says Jeno calmly. He starts to reach out a hand. “May I?”

The woman disregards Donghyuck’s frantic gesturing and nods at Jeno.

Jeno lifts one of the earrings and takes a moment to examine the blue jewel against his palm. He watches it sparkle in the dueling light of the two ringed suns in the sky and hums his approval of the quality. “How much,” he asks.

“For the two of you, I’ll bring the price down to eight hundred tillies for both pairs.”

Donghyuck gasps because eight hundred tillies is practically spaceway robbery.

Jeno doesn’t think so. He raises the earring up and holds it next to Donghyuck’s left cat ear. “I think it suits your complexion.” There’s that effortless, fond smile of his again. “Do you think it suits mine? I’ve never been able to pull off this shade of blue.” He raises his free hand to his ugly bucket hat like he’s about to snatch it off and reveal his storm silver ears which may as well be a bejeweled, golden crown on his head.

Donghyuck lets out a squeaky little cry and clamps his hand down on Jeno’s arm to stop him.

Almost like an afterthought, Jeno remembers why he is wearing the hat in the first place. “Oh yeah,” he says casually. “I forgot.” Like donning the disguise and sneaking out of the palace wasn’t his idea. “Sorry.” He sits the earring back down next to its mate. Donghyuck pays careful attention to how the stones don’t react to their pair but do indeed react to the other set.

Had Jeno just suggested that he would wear one pair and Donghyuck the other? Wasn’t that a little… couple-y? And maybe Donghyuck has dreamed of something like that a long time ago. Back when he was a kitten who didn't quite understand the gap in their social status. But today almost lets him forget such a gap exists. It’s a little like fate, he thinks, and he would smile if he was just a touch more of a hopeless romantic.

Jeno and the merchant strike up their conversation again. How are the jewels mined? Which of the restaurants has an all-you-can-eat buffet? If you could go to any planet in the system, where would you go?

Donghyuck grows distracted again. He tunes them out to focus on his surroundings. His ears swivel to and fro to catch every particularly loud sound. His tail stands stiff and straight next to his spine and his slit pupils expand to catch any possible sign of Taeil or Taeyong in the crowd. Jeno has been out of the palace all morning. There’s no way an alarm has not been raised. This amusement park isn’t even an hour from the palace and Jeno has been dropping hints to his father about wanting to go all week like a passive-aggressive kitten. If the King was going to send his guards anywhere first, it would probably be here. Donghyuck goes still when he sees a particularly orange set of ears dart through the crowd. Is it? Is that…? No. No. That’s some princess mascot in a flowery yellow dress taking pictures with giggling kittens. Not Taeil. Not Taeyong. Donghyuck can’t relax, though. It _could_ have been Taeil or Taeyong. They are tiny little cats, Toygers, both of them, with dark stripes up and down their arms and backs and tails. Unassuming fellows at first glance, really, but they are also the King’s personal guards and have reached such high status for a reason.

Donghyuck won’t stand a chance against the combined force of their disapproving frowns and hour-long lectures. Moons! He _has_ to get Jeno home.

“What about this one,” Jeno asks. He waves a woven bracelet threaded through with a rich, red ribbon directly in front of Donghyuck’s face.

“What about it,” Donghyuck asks. He doesn’t look at the bracelet for long. He keeps his aqua eyes on the crowd that circles a bit too close to Jeno’s exposed back for his liking.

“Do you want it,” Jeno asks. He leans in so that they’re nearly nose to nose. “I’ll buy it for you.”

Donghyuck shakes his head and jolts backwards. “No.”

“No, you don’t want it or no, you don’t want me to buy it for you?”

“Both,” Donghyuck hisses.

Jeno pouts. “Aww.” Genuinely saddened, he puts the bracelet back on the wooden table, nods to the old lady merchant and then continues walking up the street, joining the crowd so quickly and easily that Donghyuck would have lost sight of him if not for the stupid bucket hat.

Donghyuck gives chase. It’s not like Jeno wants to lose him. If that were his goal, he’d be gone already, but he still moves as fast as the wind. Faster than Donghyuck can move.

“Wait up,” Donghyuck demands.

Technically, Donghyuck is the prince’s guard. He has been trained all his days--since he was old enough to curl his paws into fists!--to put his life before Jeno’s life. As such, he should be walking in front of Jeno, clearing him a path through the crowd, standing in the way of any assault, announcing his presence every time Jeno walks into a new room, but for the umpteenth time today, Donghyuck trails rather awkwardly after Jeno, several paces behind him. He struggles to keep up with Jeno’s long-legged gait.

Even dressed in Donghyuck’s clothes, Jeno moves with the pride of his heritage. He walks with the puffed-up chest of a cat with royal blood. It’s almost comical how cats side-step out of his way as if they _know_.

_Do_ they know?

Donghyuck begs, “Hold on!” He fights the tide of the crowd to keep Jeno’s broad shoulders in sight.

Jeno does slow up for him, though only barely, and when he’s within reach, Donghyuck clings to one of his arms almost petulantly. They can’t be separated. He’d lose his job if they were separated. He’d probably get declawed if they were separated. As if to make doubly sure the prince won’t run off anywhere, Donghyuck brings up his second arm to wrap around Jeno’s elbow.

Jeno doesn’t seem bothered. In fact, he smiles down at Donghyuck and tucks their heads more closely together as they walk. 

It bowls Donghyuck over a little bit, the radiance of such a smile. The healthy, pink gums. The clean, pointy teeth. Jeno’s face is full of sharp corners so how he manages to look so _round_ when he smiles is another mystery Donghyuck cannot solve. A prince is supposed to be put-together and strong, he believes. Careful with their feelings since there are always cameras pointed in their direction. Wily reporters can use bad angles and misleading headlines to misconstrue even the vaguest of outward emotions. Yet Jeno _smiles_ at Donghyuck like this all of the time as if to purposely go against his ranking. Against his heritage. 

Donghyuck, on the other hand, can’t say he’s entirely sure what his own lineage is. The royal doctors say he might be a little Siamese, considering the dark markings across his face and on the fur across the backs of his hands. The thickness of the fur on his bushy tail and the tangled, untameable quality to his mullet-length ashen brown hair may also suggest he’s got Maine Coon in his blood. 

It’s difficult to say when you don’t know who your biological parents are. 

Plus, it’s not like either of those breeds came to this planet in the middle of a spectacularly historic cosmic event. But that didn’t stop baby Donghyuck from mysteriously appearing within the palace walls twenty-one years ago as if dropped there by a star. Even to this day, the palace guards do not know how he got there, how he managed to just _show up_ without anyone seeing who put him there. 

But maybe Donghyuck is glad he doesn’t know because he would hate to find out how his life would turn out if Jeno was not in it.

Jeno nudges Donghyuck with his elbow before pointing in the direction of a rather flashy coat that hangs next to one of the shopkeeper's carts as they pass it. “What do you think,” he asks.

The detailing in the stitching is very nice and, based on the saturation of the greenish-blue dye in the fabric, it is of expensive quality. “Too hot for the weather,” Donghyuck states. “But fit for a prince.”

“Fit for you,” Jeno corrects. “Fit for either of us.”

“Whatever is fit for me can’t possibly be fit for you,” says Donghyuck. He does not mean to be self-deprecating. He merely tells the truth. Donghyuck is just a common cat. Jeno is a _prince_. All his life, he was taught not to forget that.

Fortunately, Jeno doesn’t mind the discrepancy in their upbringings. “Why would anything of yours not be worthy of me? Why can’t anything of mine also belong to you?” He puts his hand on his chest, over his heart. He genuinely asks, “This is yours, is it not?”

Donghyuck misinterprets. “Yes. That _is_ my shirt,” he says with a laugh.

Jeno almost laughs, like this is one of their inside jokes, but it stops on the tip of his tongue. He lowers his hand and sighs because this isn’t the first time that Donghyuck hasn’t _understood_. 

Donghyuck understands one thing, though. And that is the fact that someone very tall and yelling very loudly is moving straight towards Jeno clutching something in their hand!

An assassination attempt? In broad daylight?

Isn’t this one of the situations Taeyong told him about? Scenario 85,512?

Donghyuck has always been a scaredycat but he’ll do anything to protect Jeno. No. He _must_ do anything to protect Jeno! He lunges forward to put himself between Jeno and the assassin right in the nick of time.

Something goes into his stomach. Hard enough to make him gasp. To make him clamp a hand down over his gut.

Wetness spills across his belly, splashes up to his chest and then drips down towards his waist.

Jeno shrieks his name.

Donghyuck goes still. Cold. He shivers. From the shock, yes, but also from that one little sliver of ice that has somehow gotten beneath his shirt and made it into his slacks.

“Moons, I’m so sorry,” the not-assassin shrieks. “I wasn’t looking where I was going!” 

A distant voice yells, “Do you ever?”

And that is apparently very funny because the not-assassin does not stop laughing. He pats Donghyuck’s dress shirt with his free hand but there’s no changing the fact that the entire front half of Donghyuck’s dress shirt is now bright blue and sticky with frozen soda. 

The cat looks into Donghyuck’s face, still grinning like a loon. “I’m so sorry, dude.”

That once-distant voice is no longer distant. “Jaemin, didn’t I just tell you not to run? Didn’t I _just_ say some shit like this would happen?” Someone else comes up beside the Jaemin guy to look over his shoulder and assess the damage. “Yikes. That looks expensive.”

It is.

“It can be replaced,” Jeno says. It’s not until then that Donghyuck realizes that Jeno’s hands are digging protectively into his shoulders.

Jaemin stares down at the smashed-in soda cup in his hand. The majority of the liquid is either on Donghyuck’s shirt or in a sticky puddle between their shoes. “This can be replaced too.” But he sounds more sad about his drink than the shirt. He turns to look at his companion. “Welp. You’re going to have to buy me another one, Mark.”

The cat named Mark points to put Jaemin’s attention back on their main problem. “And you’re going to have to buy this kid a new shirt.”

Jaemin pokes out his bottom lip. A tiny little hoop of silver through his lip catches the afternoon light. “Aww. Do I have to?”

“It would be nice if you did,” Donghyuck says through gritted teeth. It’s the calmest thought racing through his head and maybe the two cats sense that because they stop their giggling and joking around to at least pretend to look sorry.

“Hey, the bathrooms are over that way,” Mark suggests. He points to a building just up the brick pathway. “You two should go wash up and I’ll buy you a new shirt from the gift shop.” Mark slaps Jaemin hard across the chest. “I mean _you_ should buy the shirt. Give me fifty tillies.”

“Fifty tillies,” Jaemin echoes. “A shirt doesn’t cost fifty tillies!”

“At an amusement park, it probably will,” Mark lets him know.

He’s more than likely right.

Jaemin sighs but he shoves his hand in his back pocket to free his wallet, then he hands over two yellow bills and an orange one to Mark who hastily snatches the cash before Jaemin can think to take it back.

Mark tugs on Jeno’s shirt sleeve. “Help me pick out something he’ll like.”

Jeno immediately nods. “Okay.”

Donghyuck doesn’t like this idea. Such a plan suggests that he and Jeno will spend several time-sparks apart.

“I’ll be fine,” Jeno says, watching the way Donghyuck’s expression sours. “You worry about me too much.”

“I’m _supposed_ to,” Donghyuck whines. He almost screams that it’s his job, that he receives room and board at the palace and gets paid weekly to look after Jeno’s well-being.

Jeno leans forward and presses their noses together in a surprisingly intimate gesture that makes Jaemin and Mark hurriedly glance away to give them privacy. “I’ll be fine,” Jeno repeats. Slower. Softer. “Won’t you let me look after myself for just a while?” His breath ghosts over Donghyuck’s skin like a caress.

And Donghyuck hates how easily he will give in to Jeno’s every whim when he should be the one determining what’s fine and what’s not when they are beyond the walls of the palace.

Jaemin tugs on Donghyuck’s shirt collar. “Let’s get cleaned up,” he says.

Donghyuck can’t even launch another complaint about this because Jaemin is strong and _determined_ and practically drags Donghyuck away by the scruff of his neck like he’s still some kitten. Jaemin doesn’t even let him go until they’re in the bathroom in front of the row of sinks and mirrors. 

Donghyuck looks at himself in the glass. At his blown-wide pupils and soaked-through shirt.

He’s a mess.

Jaemin opens his palm beneath the hand soap dispenser and the motion sensor deposits a lavender-scented dollop on his hand. “Look… Dude… Can I call you dude? I didn’t mean to ruin your date,” Jaemin says, rubbing his hands together so that the soap lathers. 

Donghyuck is about to say ‘It’s not a date’ but Jaemin speaks up first:

“I saw the way you stepped in front of him.”

And Donghyuck stiffens. He watches Jaemin wash his hands in the reflection of the glass and wonders if he’s somehow given away Jeno’s identity by rushing to his aid like that, but--

Jaemin snorts. “Mark would never take a soda cup to the chest for me. He’d just watch and point and laugh.” Then he tilts his head to the side and really thinks about it. “I don’t think I’d take one for him either. I wouldn’t even warn him if I saw it coming.” He snickers and the sharp points of his teeth poke out from between his lips. “Dude, who _would_ I take a soda cup to the chest for? My brother, maybe. But _would I_? Really?”

Donghyuck relaxes. He hasn’t given away Jeno’s identity. He’s just sparked some moral debate. Whatever. He leans forward towards the dispenser bolted to the wall to get a dollop of hand soap on his palm and attempts to scrub away the sticky blueness from between his fingers. Now that he gets a really good look at himself, he just looks like a sad, orphaned cat soaking in the rain. Moons! Maybe he should at least attempt to smile. He does so. There. He looks better already. Donghyuck looks over at Jaemin, at the guy’s scruffy white ears and exceptionally long tail. He might be a Turkish Angora, Donghyuck decides. Brought here all the way from Old Earth, if he remembers. One of the only breeds on this planet to still carry the name of an Old Earth country. 

Jaemin finishes washing his hands and wipes them off on a paper towel. He’s a handsome cat and even though his rock band t-shirt isn’t all too form-fitting, his musculature is still evident. Even his scent is strong. Outdoorsy and woodsy like the middle of a forest in a hot summer. 

Donghyuck cuts off the water in the sink. He asks, “Are you two mated?”

Jaemin goes stiff and meets Donghyuck’s eyes in the mirror. His mouth hangs half-open like he’s never been asked such a question his entire life. Perhaps he hasn’t. Jaemin says, “With Mark? Moons no. He’s my best friend.”

“Doesn’t stop you from being mates,” Donghyuck lets him know. He’s briefly reminded of Taeyong and Taeil and their tight, indestructible bond. How they complete each other’s sentences and can smell each other from rooms away. Then he is reminded of _Taeyong and Taeil_ and realizes that if they spot Jeno outdoors without protection, they’ll hang him from the nearest wall by his toe claws. Donghyuck skips the paper towels and shakes his hands dry. He attempts to leave the bathroom.

Unfortunately, Jaemin is still in the mood to talk. He grabs Donghyuck by the elbow to keep him from leaving. “I’ve never thought about it before. I like him as a friend but do I like him as a _mate_ ? I mean, that’s a big difference. What if I ask him about it? What if he thinks I’m being weird? I mean… We could always try it, right? But if both of us aren’t serious, the bite won’t work, you know. Dude, we _can’t_ be mates! I don’t even think we’re all that close. He actually kind of hates to share stuff with me because he doesn’t want to smell like me.” Jaemin was staring off at a point to the right of Donghyuck’s head but now he meets the shorter cat’s gaze. His eyes are bright and hazel-brown, flecked with lightning bolts of gold. “I always thought he was more interested in one of our older friends than in me. You should see the way he prances around in front of Johnny. Am I… Am I jealous? Oh, Moons! What have you done to me? Now I’m gonna start second guessing everything!”

And maybe Donghyuck realizes a bit too late that it was probably extremely rude to assume Jaemin and Mark were mated. Especially when, not even ten time-sparks earlier, he’d gotten upset when that shopkeeper thought he and Jeno were mates. Donghyuck’s about to open his mouth and apologize when a booming voice shouts, “Hellooooooo? You guys still in here?”

“Yeah, Mark,” Jaemin squeaks out. He drops his grip on Donghyuck’s elbow and takes a step back as if worried their proximity would be misinterpreted.

Mark comes around the corner into the tiled room. A long gray shirt with the tags still on it is in his hands.

Jeno steps out from behind Mark and sees that Donghyuck is still wearing the soda-sticky dress shirt. “You should have taken that off,” he chastises. He walks right up to Donghyuck and begins untying the tie, untucking the shirt, undoing the buttons. “Now your skin will be all damp and sticky! You’ll smell like soda all day.”

Donghyuck can’t even get him to stop his fussing because he only blinks once before Jeno has the dress shirt yanked off of his shoulders. He blinks again and it is down his arms. A third blink and he’s shirtless. It’s an expensive shirt--easily three hundred tillies--but Jeno doesn’t hesitate before he balls it up and chucks it and the stained tie in the trash. Donghyuck feels exposed and vulnerable standing shirtless in front of Jeno even though he’s stood shirtless in front of Jeno a thousand times before today. Fortunately, he’s not unclothed long. Mark hands Jeno the shirt he’s just bought and Jeno easily slips it on over Donghyuck’s head.

“Come on,” Jeno urges. “You have to do the arms yourself.”

“Ugh. Fine.” Donghyuck twists and turns and wriggles his elbows until he can get his arms through the appropriate holes and by the time he’s gotten himself situated, Jeno is already spinning him around towards the mirrors.

Jeno asks, “What do you think? How does it look?” 

It’s not as plain as Donghyuck first thought. There’s a design on the front. A whole bunch of cartoon characters associated with the amusement park that Donghyuck can’t even name. “It’s cute,” he says.

Jeno runs his hands up and down the short sleeves as if trying to smooth out the creases. “I know that tone,” he hums. “You hate it.”

“I like it,” Donghyuck insists. 

Jeno tugs and pulls at the shirt’s hem. “You can tell me you hate it.”

“I really do think it’s cute. It’s very colorful. Oh and the material is very soft. Very breathable.”

Now Jeno’s hands are at Donghyuck’s neck, fingers tugging at the collar like he needs to get it perfectly centered.

Donghyuck realizes what he’s doing way too late. “Are you scenting me?”

Jeno pauses and then looks down at his hands like he isn’t aware of what he’s doing. He quickly recovers his composure. “All of your things smell like me.”

“This doesn’t even smell like _me_ yet,” Donghyuck tells him firmly.

Reluctantly, Jeno steps away, but the way he fidgets with his hands make it clear that he still wants to rub his wrists across Donghyuck’s new shirt and cover Donghyuck in his scent.

“Well, now that that’s all taken care of…” Mark begins.

Donghyuck whirls away from the mirrors. He’s practically forgotten Mark and Jaemin are still standing there, watching.

Jaemin says, “Well, I don’t just want a soda now. I’m properly hungry, dude.” He shifts on his heels and gets ready to leave. “Come on, Mark.”

Jeno blurts out, “Can we eat with you?”

Donghyuck pokes him in the side. “My--” He almost says _my liege_.

Mark doesn’t sense the tension in the air. “Sure. But you gotta pay your way.”

And with such matters decided, they leave the bathroom and walk back outside.

Donghyuck winces as his eyes adjust to the brightness of the outdoors. The sky is now more lime green than yellow-green which means that the temperature has climbed a little more. The clouds are significantly more orange and there are just enough gaps in their slowly revolving swirls for Donghyuck to catch sight of the twenty one moons that dot this side of the sky.

Donghyuck switches his attention to his new shirt. He peels the size sticker off. It’s a size small when he usually wears a medium. No wonder it fits so snugly around his torso. He takes a claw to the bit of rope that holds the price card and then drops the trash in a garbage can as they pass.

Then he tunes into the conversation around him.

The important topic is what they’ll have for lunch.

Jaemin suggests burgers. Mark suggests hot dogs. Jeno suggests pizza. Mark and Jaemin both change their answers to pizza and when they ask Donghyuck for his vote, even though they’ve already reached a majority, he simply says he will have whatever Jeno is having. 

Mark knows the layout of the park best out of all of them--he used to work here part-time when he was in school, he says--so he boldly leads the way down the brick path, tail swaying to and fro.

Donghyuck doesn’t mean to be nosy, but he still tries his best to lean towards Mark when he can and get a feel for his scent. It’s different. Subtle and minty and sweet when he fully expects something brash and loud to match Mark’s unbridled laughter. Try as he might, Donghyuck has no real, objective idea of what he smells like. Every attempt to get an answer from Jeno gets him something vague like “home” or “the best.”

The group passes the drop tower, which is supposedly so tall that riders can get short of breath at the top because of how thin the atmosphere is up there. Then the path hooks left and dips down and takes them beneath the corkscrew rails of a roller coaster and Jeno pulls his phone out of his pocket and lifts it upwards just in time to snap a blurry photo of the coaster as it sails overhead. They crest a hill and off to the right is the rather large, noisy go-kart track.

There’s not much of a line at the pizza place so they do not have to wait long. They order four huge slices and sit down at a table beneath a rainbow-colored umbrella.

Mark’s gone for a classic slice: goopy cheese, Pluto vine leaves and the tiny little heads of bug-eyed fish for some crunch.

Jaemin’s gone a little bit more exotic with his selection as his slice is topped with two different imported meats, one greenish and the other reddish, and the star-shaped blooms of Saturn fruit for a little zzazz.

Jeno has gotten the Everything Slice which, as its name suggests, has one of all twenty one toppings the shop offers. And because Donghyuck said he’d get what Jeno would get, he too has an Everything Slice even though he doesn’t like everything on his slice.

Jeno knows this and as they settle down at the table, he takes the time to pick off the toppings Donghyuck doesn’t like to put them on his own slice before selflessly offering the toppings off his own pizza that he knows Donghyuck _does_ like.

It’s a quiet, comfortable exchange not all too different from their evenings at the royal dining table.

“You’re such a cute pair,” Mark says as he watches Jeno work.

Here they go again.

Jaemin clears his throat loudly. “What?” He scoffs. “Just because they remember each other’s pizza slice orders they have to be a pair?” He forces a laugh. “That’s not commendable at all. Anyone can remember a food order.” Another forced laugh. “Just because they know each other’s likes and dislikes doesn’t mean they’re mated!”

Donghyuck looks across the table at him and immediately notices how obviously Jaemin is avoiding sharing too much physical space with Mark. How he comically looks away and whistles to avoid making eye contact when Mark gives him a “Dude, what are you on about?”

Jaemin waves a dismissive hand. “I know your likes and dislikes but--” Another loud, staccato laugh. “--I’m not your mate.”

An odd expression crosses Mark’s face. There and gone. So brief that Donghyuck only catches it because he was already looking at Mark. It’s almost… disappointment? Mark says, “Yeah, you’re not,” and his voice breaks on the last word.

Jaemin doesn’t notice. He’s too busy stuffing his face and acting like the slow-moving log flume on the other side of the trees is the most interesting ride he’s ever seen.

Donghyuck looks back over at Mark. Where Jaemin’s ears and tail are white and fluffy, Mark is a dark-furred shorthair. His eyes are deep and dark and big and stare at Jaemin curiously. His brown-spotted fur seems to carry the patterns from two different cat breeds and the motley quality of it makes Donghyuck feel oddly at ease. There’s someone else out here like him. There’s someone else on this moon without a concise, homogeneous pedigree. Not like everyone at the palace.

Donghyuck bites into his Everything Slice and lets out a short squeal of delight. It’s better than he thought it would be.

“Good, right,” Jeno asks, leaning closer than he needs to.

Donghyuck nods, his mouth too full to speak.

Jeno takes a bite of his own slice. “Oh! This is so much better than how they make it back at home.”

Innocently, Mark asks, “Are you guys not from around here? What place do you call home?”

“Oh. We live in the pala--”

“On the other side of the moon,” Donghyuck interrupts. “Way over there.” He gestures with his hand. “Not anywhere close by. Nope. Definitely not anywhere fancy!”

Mark and Jaemin don’t really question his outburst. They just nod.

“I’m from here,” Mark says. “Well, not from the amusement park but from this city.”

Jeno says, “It’s my first time at an amusement park. My dad usually doesn’t let me go outside.” 

Mark and Jaemin share a look. But not for long before Jaemin blushes and looks away.

Jeno looks over at his royal guard. “But I can always count on Donghyuck to look after me whenever I sneak out.” He reaches out a hand and scritches Donghyuck beneath his chin.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and slaps Jeno’s hand away.

“How long have you two known each other,” Mark asks, truly fascinated by their casual displays of affection.

“Since we were kittens,” answers Jeno. “Drawn together like a sun and a moon.” They’ve spent every day of their lives with each other. Quite literally. The prince-in-disguise sighs dreamily. “I can’t imagine how I’d live without him.”

Donghyuck forces a smile. He attempts to steer the conversation away from their personal lives. “Did any of you bring swim trunks? Do you think we can hit up the water park?”

“I had no intentions of getting wet today,” says Jaemin. “Can’t you tell how much effort I put into looking nice today?” He waves a hand towards his shirt and accessories.

Mark shrugs and goes, “We can always buy swimwear and stash our clothes in a locker.”

“It’ll be so expensive,” Jaemin whines. “And you’ll probably make me pay for everything.”

“Shouldn’t you,” Mark asks him. “Any other day, you’d be bending over backwards trying to pay for everything.” Mark grins. “It’s like you’ve been trying to impress me.”

Jaemin splutters, caught in the act. “Psssh. No!”

Mark laughs at him.

Now it’s Jaemin’s turn to desperately drag the conversation away from couple-y things. “Did anyone want to try the drop tower? Maybe I can punt Mark out of orbit once we get to the top.” He glares at his friend. “Think you can breathe up there, smart guy?”

Mark rolls his eyes. “Do you really think you can dropkick me into space? Skinny as you are?”

“I’ve been working out.” Jaemin pulls up his shirt sleeve and flexes. His muscles, though not particularly bulky, are quite defined and carry the smooth, warm tan of someone who spends half the day outside.

Mark reaches out a hand and squeezes Jaemin’s bicep.

Jaemin immediately loses his nerve and spins away. “Paws off!”

Donghyuck barely notices because he’s so caught up watching Mark and Jaemin, but he feels Jeno’s hand on his back. It’s light little touches he can barely sense through the material of the shirt. Jeno is _still_ trying to cover Donghyuck in his scent and the fact that he is going out of his way to be subtle about it means that he is doing it on purpose. And that has a totally different meaning from doing it unintentionally. The only reason Donghyuck can think of is that Jeno somehow thinks Mark or Jaemin will attempt to lay claim to him. Which is… odd because it’s so clear to Donghyuck that the only cats those two want to lay claim to are each other.

Jaemin shoves the last of his pizza crust in his mouth and chews with his mouth open. “I want to ride the tallest, fastest ride they’ve got in this place.”

“That’s the Natural Disaster,” Mark says. “The queue for that is usually very long. Like… half a cycle long. Do you really want to ride it that bad?”

“Yeah,” Jaemin says. He wipes his greasy hands across the knees of his pants. “Need something to get my blood pumping. We’ve been doing nothing but walking since we got here.”

“You sure you don’t want to work your way up to a ride like that,” asks Mark. “We should start with the Ferris wheel. Do you know how high up it goes?” He laughs.

Jaemin doesn’t look ready to be in such an enclosed space with Mark. “How about the bumper cars? I’ll knock you out of your car for sure.”

Mark says, “I thought we could get one of those two-seaters.”

“No. Definitely not,” Jaemin cries out. “We don’t have to share.”

Jeno leans towards Donghyuck. “Did you want to try the bumper cars?”

Donghyuck shakes his head. “There’s a concussion risk.”

“What do you want me to do? Wear a helmet?”

“Ideally.”

“Donghyuck, please.”

“I have to look out for you.”

“And you do that. You really do. But I brought you here to have fun with you but you don’t seem to be having any fun.”

And that’s news to Donghyuck. “I thought you snuck out to piss off your dad?”

Jeno sighs wearily.

On the other side of the table, Mark attempts to take a napkin to the corner of Jaemin’s mouth but Jaemin recoils from the touch. Mark furrows his eyebrows and shouts, “Dude!”

“I can wipe my own mouth. You don’t have to do that for me,” says Jaemin. And he looks up at Donghyuck like he needs a rescue.

Donghyuck can’t even hold his gaze long before Jaemin frantically looks away. He doesn’t know these guys well but he can tell that they don’t usually fuss and fight like this. Then it hits him. Without meaning to, he’s put a wedge between them, hasn’t he? He’s put distance between them that would have never existed if he hadn’t opened his big mouth and assumed they were mates.

Mark tosses the napkin at Jaemin’s face. “Fine. Clean yourself up.”

“I will,” Jaemin huffs and then wipes his mouth with the napkin, pierced lip stuck out in a pout.

Mark balls his hands into fists. “What is up with you? You were so cool earlier and now you freak out at every little thing. Is it that time of the month?”

“That’s low,” Jaemin fires back, truly angry now. “And that’s got nothing to do with it.”

“Then what’s the problem,” Mark asks. He raises his voice loud enough that the other cats sitting at the picnic tables around them turn to look at them. “Why are you trying to start a fight with me?”

And Jaemin yells, “Because I don’t know if you want to be mates with me or Johnny!”

And then Mark shouts, “I’ll always pick you!”

And then they both realize what they’ve screamed at each other and hurriedly look away from each other.

The tension sizzles.

Donghyuck kind of feels like this is all his fault because he was the one who put the thought in Jaemin’s head. He’s about to stand up and profusely apologize when Jaemin clears his throat and asks, “Do you want to be my mate?”

And Mark says, “Yeah, dude,” about as calm and casual as if Jaemin has just asked if he wants more soda.

It takes a few heartbeats for them to work up the nerve but they slowly slide across the picnic table’s bench seat towards each other until they are sitting thigh to thigh and shoulder to shoulder.

Like everything’s back to normal, Jaemin points at Mark’s plate and asks, “Are you going to finish that?”

Mark sighs like he’s been through this a hundred times. “Just take it.”

The sentence is barely out of his mouth before Jaemin snatches Mark’s half-finished pizza slice and stuffs it into his mouth.

“Are you going to finish that,” Jeno asks.

Donghyuck blinks. It’s like waking up from a dream as he remembers where he is and who he’s with and what he’s doing. He glances down at his slice of pizza. “Yeah, actually. I am.” He picks up his own pizza slice and finishes it in mildly jealous silence, Mark and Jaemin giggling all the while.

With their meal finished, they naturally go their separate ways.

Mark and Jaemin head to the Ferris wheel to see if the mating bite will work.

Jeno is determined to find a souvenir to take home so he leads Donghyuck back to all of the shops and kiosks along the main street near the park entrance. Donghyuck follows in a daze, still blown away by how quickly and easily Mark and Jaemin confessed to each other.

Jeno brings them to a halt in front of a kiosk surrounded in colorful flags and spends time looking through the jewelry and crafts and hair accessories for sale.

“How about this one,” he asks, holding up a perfumed satchel. A tiny turtle is embroidered onto the front. “There’s a hint of citrus. Reminds me of summer. Reminds me of you.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes but leans forward to press the tip of his nose to the smooth silk of the burgundy satchel. Through the material, he catches a whiff of the potpourri but he can’t imagine why Jeno associates such a subtle, layered, flowery scent with someone mangy like him. He pulls away and frowns. “You’re being over-familiar again,” he huffs.

“Over-familiar,” Jeno repeats with a raised eyebrow. Then he wiggles his hand that Donghyuck does not even remember grabbing hold of.

Donghyuck remembers his place. He remembers his status and attempts to let go and back away, but Jeno clamps his hand down tight to keep their fingers intertwined.

The contact did not bother him five time-sparks ago but now their closeness embarrasses Donghyuck. And that embarrassment flushes across his face in bright pink splotches when he catches the eye of the brown-furred Burmese on the other side of the counter staring up at them expectantly. The name tag pinned to the employee’s bright shirt reads ‘Renjun.’

This time, when Donghyuck peels his hand off of his liege, Jeno does not stop him.

“How much for this,” Jeno asks the surly-looking boy running the stand, holding up the satchel.

“Thirty tillies,” Renjun says, taking a pull off a smokestick he probably shouldn’t have out while on the job. When he speaks, his words form clouds. “But if you buy something else along with it, I’ll drop the price to twenty.”

Jeno frowns. “Twenty is probably what it should be to start with.”

The Burmese raises an eyebrow but before a confrontation starts, Jeno places the satchel back on the table and looks through the items for something else to buy.

Donghyuck can’t relax enough to look at the jewelry and knickknacks. His eyes examine their surroundings. In the distance, he sees the spinning swings and, slightly farther away, the carousel. On the other side of the path, just a hop away, he spots a candy kiosk with sides painted soft pink and baby blue like the sky in the morning and it hasn’t been but thirty time-sparks since he ate but he could use something sweet to munch on. He wraps a hand around Jeno’s wrist and pulls in an attempt to get Jeno to move but the prince stays put.

“How much is this,” Jeno asks, having found a new item of interest.

The Burmese stares at the tiny mirror Jeno points at. Then he looks up. “One hundred and twenty tillies.” Renjun takes another pull off his smokestick and when he exhales, the smoke drifts around his head in a sweet-smelling cloud. It smells like Venusmelon. “But I’ll make it an even hundred tillies for a mated pair like you two.”

Donghyuck hops half his height into the air. “Oh, no no no no no. Oh, Moons! We’re not mated--”

“It’s very nice quality,” Jeno admits. He runs his fingers along the gilded edge of the mirror and seems to get lost in the reflection of his own violet eyes.

Donghyuck has to pinch the prince’s side and pull hard to get Jeno moving again. “We’ll be back,” Donghyuck tells Renjun, even though they won’t be back, and then he ushers Jeno away. To the prince, he hisses, “Why do you always pick the most expensive things?”

“I want something to remember this day by,” Jeno admits.

“Whether it costs twenty tillies or a thousand tillies, I’m sure we’ll both remember it.” Because Taeyong and Taeil and especially Jeno’s father, the King, will not let either of them forget this day. “Come on,” Donghyuck insists. “Let’s just get something sweet to eat and find a ride to go on.”

They stand in line for the candy kiosk and it still amazes Donghyuck how no one recognizes Prince Jeno. It’s just a simple bucket hat! It only hides his ears. Not his face. Is his breed his only defining feature? Donghyuck is nearly offended. Can’t they recognize Jeno by his nose, like he can? By his eyebrows, like he can? By his soft, peach-colored lips like he can!? Donghyuck must resist the urge to snatch the bucket hat off of Jeno’s head himself and point at Jeno’s ears and shout, “Lookie here!” Instead, he jolts in mild fright as his phone buzzes in his back pocket. 

He pulls the device out and checks the screen.

An ominous message from Taeil flashes at the top of his screen: _I see you_.

And then, not even a tenth of a time-spark later, another notification pops up. _I see you_. This time from Taeyong.

Donghyuck gets up on his tip-toes and tries to search the crowd around them but there’s no way Taeil and Taeyong will make themselves easily visible.

Once the two of them reach the front of the line, Donghyuck is too shaken to place their order so Jeno buys them a bag of the most sour hard candy the lady sells. They get two steps out of the line before Jeno claws the bag open and grabs a handful for them to share. Donghyuck takes one. Jeno grabs another and hardly places it on his tongue before he recoils and hisses, “Lemon. Ugh.” Then he leans into Donghyuck’s face and sticks out his tongue. The yellow candy sits at the very tip of it and Donghyuck goes cross-eyed staring at it.

He has to ask, “What do you want me to do?” 

“Take it,” Jeno manages to say with his tongue out of his mouth. And before Donghyuck can lift a hand to pluck it, Jeno leans even farther forward.

Donghyuck parts his lips, mainly out of surprise, and gasps as he feels Jeno’s rough tongue press the candy into his mouth. He resists the urge to snap his mouth closed around Jeno’s breaching tongue and instead pushes the candy into his cheek along with the strawberry one he was already working on.

“You like lemon, don’t you,” Jeno asks, leaning away.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck says, feeling faint. Breathless. He can still taste Jeno in his mouth.

“I knew it.” Jeno nods and then grabs another candy out of the bag as if he hasn’t just almost-but-pretty-much-basically kissed Donghyuck on the mouth. Jeno pops the treat into his mouth and then scrunches up his face as the sour flavor hits. “Ahh!”

Donghyuck laughs at him. 

Jeno manages to open his eyes but the delightful disgust still grips his face. “Grape! Much better.”

In the back of Donghyuck’s mind, however, he can only think of Taeyong and Taeil. They are in the amusement park. They clearly have Donghyuck in their sights. So why are they still lurking? Probably being sneaky and watching from the bushes or something. Why won’t they rush forward and corner them and start their “Do you know how worried we’ve been?” spiel before dragging them out of the park by the scruffs of their necks? 

Why aren’t they doing that?

Donghyuck is so distracted that he’s not even aware that they’ve walked clear to the center of the park. Around them, the crowd truly thickens as three main paths converge into one main cobblestone square. If Donghyuck was wary before, now he’s properly antsy! Everyone that jostles against him sends jitters up his spine and it amazes him that Jeno, who shouldn’t be used to being touched by anyone, has no issues being bumped about by the crowd. When a particularly large group of young cats nearly separates them, Donghyuck just grabs Jeno’s hand firmly to keep from being pulled away from him. It takes a little while, but they break out of the massive crowd and find themselves in the less populated areas in the far corners of the square. There is a long row of games set up from one end to the other. Games of precision that require the popping of balloons using darts. Games of dexterity centered around tossing colorful rings so that they land around pegs. Even games of memorization where players have to hit small buttons in the same musical order in which they glow. 

Jeno leads Donghyuck up to a game of strength and hands the white-furred Siberian standing next to the machine a half-tilly coin. His name tag reads Chenle.

“You are very pretty,” Chenle tells Jeno in a clipped, off-planet accent. He looks down at the pair’s clasped hands and then looks up at Donghyuck. “And you are _very_ lucky.” There’s definitely a barely-veiled insult there.

Self-conscious, Donghyuck drops Jeno’s hand. “I-- We-- We aren’t--” Moons! How many times can this happen in a single day? There’s gotta be a world record that they are about to break. “Really. It’s--”

Chenle laughs and turns away, his tail so bushy and long that Donghyuck has to hop back to avoid being swatted with it. He rigs up the machine and then turns back around and hands Jeno the padded mallet. “Hit the plate and try to ring the bell at the top,” he instructs, pointing several tail lengths above his head.

Donghyuck looks up and up and up. Moons! That thing seems unfairly high. There’s no way Jeno will get it. He picks out another sour candy from the bag and pops it into his mouth. What’s this flavor? Lime? It’s good.

Jeno grips the mallet in both hands, swings it over his head and smashes the end of it down on the appropriate button with a war cry. His strike launches the small weight from the bottom of the machine towards the top and a bell rings loudly when the weight strikes the goal.

Donghyuck stands there slack-jawed. He nearly swallows his lime candy and coughs.

“Very good,” the Siberian says, clapping his hands. “First try!” There’s a moment where it looks like Chenle may sweep Jeno up into a hug but Jeno presses the mallet into the young cat’s hands instead. Chenle accepts it. “Very strong! Here. Take prize.” He motions Jeno towards the small table of prizes and Jeno does not hesitate to reach past almost everything and grab one of the stuffed animals. Pastel yellow. A rabbit, perhaps? Some off-planet creature Donghyuck has never seen with his own eyes before.

“His turn,” Jeno says. He hands Chenle another half-tilly coin.

The kid pockets it and rigs up the machine again before pressing the mallet into Donghyuck’s arms. 

Donghyuck struggles beneath its surprising weight. He nearly chokes on his candy again as he attempts to get his hands around the thing. “I’m not very good at this,” he whispers to Jeno.

Jeno pries the bag of candy from Donghyuck’s hands. “Just try it. It’s fun.”

“You’re going to laugh at me when I fail.”

“Maybe,” Jeno coos. “More than likely. Definitely. But try anyways.”

Donghyuck sighs. He shifts his grip on the mallet and stands with his legs shoulder-width apart, tail curling outward to help him stay balanced. He does his best to build up momentum in his swing but even he knows that he doesn’t bring the mallet down very hard. 

The weight doesn’t even make it a quarter of the way up the machine before it slides right back down with a depressing _thwomp_.

Jeno bursts out into a fit of giggles.

Chenle laughs along with him and then leans forward to pry the handle of the mallet from Donghyuck’s trembling hands. “How can you protect your mate with such puny arms,” he guffaws. “You so weak. Why he claim you?”

And Donghyuck doesn’t know what to say to that. He’s a royal guard! Despite his soft appearance, he’s been combat trained! (Taeil only gave him four head shakes and a single tsk. Taeyong only heaved one sigh and said, “Just let the kitten pass this time so we can go have brunch.”) And it’s not like Jeno has _claimed_ him! Why does everyone think they’re mates?

Chenle gets a hold of his giggles. “Maybe he only pick you because pretty.” He waves a hand towards Donghyuck’s face. "Not because strong."

Suddenly serious and no longer laughing, Jeno steps forward to put his body just a tad bit more between Donghyuck and the Siberian. “I can fend for myself,” Jeno states.

That doesn’t cure Chenle’s giggles. “Will you still be able to say that when you’re carrying the weight of his kittens?” He smacks his own belly and walks away, already peddling the game to another pair of cats on a date.

“Moons. He doesn’t have to be so rude,” Jeno snorts. Then, loud enough to be heard, he tells Donghyuck, “What if you’re the one who will be carrying _my_ kittens? He doesn’t know that.”

“ _That’s_ the detail that bugs you,” Donghyuck chokes out. "Not anything else?"

Jeno is already over it. He scans the square for another game they should play. “Do you think we should go on the rides? Let’s try the Natural Disaster. Do you think we’ll run into Jaemin and Mark again? Do you think the mating bite worked?” 

Donghyuck is still flabbergasted. He’s still several time-sparks behind in the conversation. His mouth hangs open in shock and his brain is absolutely fried at just the thought of Jeno’s belly being heavy with _anyone’s_ kittens. Let alone his own! Moons. All the nights they’ve shared a bed and it has never once occurred to him that they could… That it was possible for them to… 

Jeno shrugs it all off, though. “Ehh, I think my stomach is still too full for a thrill ride. Want to find the dragon coaster?” He grabs Donghyuck’s hand and pulls him towards one of the paths that leads out of the square. 

“Aren’t you uncomfortable,” Donghyuck has to ask. It’s taken him this long just to formulate words.

Jeno tilts his head back so he can put his nose to the wind and catch the scent of frying food in the air. “Uncomfortable with what?”

“With constantly being accused of being my mate?”

That makes Jeno laugh. Albeit humorlessly. “Accused? That’s such a strong word, Donghyuck. No one is _accusing_ us of anything.” He looks over at Donghyuck and catches sight of his serious frown. “Okay. What’s the matter?”

“Aren’t you bothered,” Donghyuck reiterates. “It’s been happening all day. Why do so many cats think we are mated?” And what gets him the most is that he could be at this amusement park with literally any other cat and he wouldn’t have heard the word ‘mate’ all day. “Are we that much in-- Do we… Do we smell that much like each other?”

“I would hope so after two decades of growing up together,” Jeno says with an eye roll, as if he hasn’t quite caught on to the gravity of the situation. As if he hasn’t actually thought about what it means for someone in _his_ position to be mated. But maybe he does understand because he slows his walk and looks over at Donghyuck with a tiny, pouty frown on his mouth. “Do you hate it that much when cats think we _are_ mated?”

And the question hits Donghyuck like he’s having his tail stepped on. Like the royal groomers have trimmed his claws too close to the nerve. The pain of the question shoots up his spine and spins through his ribs. He has to stand there and ask himself the same thing: _Does_ he hate that cats think they are a mated pair? 

_Is_ that so bad?

He must take too long to answer for Jeno’s liking. “Is that how you really feel?” And the sadness in his eyes doesn’t suit his face. When Donghyuck still doesn’t reply, Jeno scowls. “Do you _really_ hate it that much?” And it’s stunning how quickly hurt can turn to anger. The fire of it practically glows in Jeno’s violet eyes but then… he unclenches. The anger fades. The fire cools. Jeno’s expression splits and he barely manages to suck a sob back into his mouth. “Donghyuck?”

And Donghyuck knows that it’s his silence that causes Jeno such distress, but what can he say? They can’t possibly be allowed to be mates in peace. Wouldn’t it break their hearts more if Donghyuck said yes only for the palace guards to rip them apart? Isn’t it better to maintain distance? “You’re a prince,” Donghyuck suggests. “And I’m just--”

“I don’t care,” Jeno snaps.

Faster than Donghyuck anticipates, Jeno lunges forward. His scent floods Donghyuck’s senses, makes him stand stock still as Jeno grips the collar of Donghyuck’s shirt and tugs the material down off of his neck and shoulder. Jeno clamps his mouth down on the crook of Donghyuck’s neck and _bites_. Hard. Hard enough to make Donghyuck yelp. 

But the mating magic does not work. It just doesn’t.

Jeno’s teeth do not break skin. Even as he whines deep in his throat and clamps down harder.

It doesn’t work.

Donghyuck manages to push him away, exhausted even though he has not moved. 

Jeno stumbles backwards and the hurt on his face would have you thinking he’s just been slapped. “Do you…” Jeno chokes out. Tears well up in his eyes. He runs the back of his hand across his mouth. Is that what it looks like to watch someone’s heart break? “Do you really not like me at all?”

That’s the farthest thing from the truth and Donghyuck wants to tell him so but Jeno doesn’t even give him a chance to answer before he turns around as if to flee.

He does not make it far.

Taeyong stands right behind him (how long has he been there?) and the two of them bodily collide. Jeno shrieks. He would have fallen to the cobblestone if not for Taeyong’s quick reflexes.

Donghyuck attempts to make a run for it himself but where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Where there’s Taeyong, there’s Taeil.

The orange-haired cat in question stands right behind Donghyuck and all he has to do is fix the younger cat with a look to make the boy stop short. Taeil folds his arms across his chest and taps his foot like he already knows Donghyuck’s excuse won’t be good enough. “Now, now, kitten.”

“Dad,” Donghyuck chokes out. He knew this moment was going to happen, just not _when_. He looks over at Taeyong, who has Jeno by the scruff of his neck. They are well and proper caught now. No use fighting. Donghyuck sighs, “Papa.”

“What is the meaning of this,” Taeyong asks. “Do you two not know how little sense this makes? What in the Moon are you trying to do?”

And although this whole excursion was Jeno’s idea, Donghyuck decides to take the fall. The amusement park was his idea, he’ll say. It was his plan to sneak them out of the palace and make everyone worry, he’ll say. He dragged Jeno along, he’ll say. 

Please don’t punish Jeno, he’ll say.

But Taeyong continues, “If you want to go for a mating bite, it’s the left shoulder. Not the right. Hello?”

Donghyuck’s not the one with a bucket hat blocking his ears but he is the one that goes, “Huh? What did you just say?”

His papa points to the left side of his neck where two tiny little pin pricks are visible. The same marking that has been there for as long as Donghyuck can remember.

Donghyuck spins around to see Taeil pointing to a matching mark on his neck. His dad asks him, “You don’t even know _that_ much?”

“Of course I know,” Donghyuck huffs. “That’s not what I’m confused about.”

Taeil steps forward and drapes an arm around Donghyuck’s shoulders. He is short in stature but Donghyuck can feel the strength of his muscles beneath his shirt. Feel the ridges of the fight scars on his arms. Taeil shakes Donghyuck like he’s some toy and the movement fills Donghyuck’s nose with the rather heavy scent of soil and herbs and wood. “What are you confused about, baba?”

Donghyuck hasn’t been called that nickname in ages. It’s an odd comfort. “I thought you and Papa would be mad at us.”

“We’d only be mad if we didn’t know about your date,” Taeil answers.

Date? Donghyuck’s jaw drops. Even his Dad and Papa?

“You’re not sneaky,” says Taeyong. With gentle fingers, he wipes the salt trails of Jeno’s tears off of his face. “We knew you two had snuck out of the palace not even two time-sparks after you bribed Jisung to not say anything.”

Jeno rolls his eyes. “That traitor!”

He said he wouldn’t tell! Donghyuck groans. “What did you offer him?” They had given him a hundred tillies and half a slice of Neptuneberry cake! “What did you give him that was better than what we gave him?”

Taeil snickers. “That’s a trade secret and no, you will _not_ be allowed to ‘have a little talk’ with him when we get back.”

“Awww,” Donghyuck huffs. But he can’t even be too mad. Now that Jisung stands head and shoulders taller than Donghyuck and sees better in the dark than Jeno does, their ‘little talks’ have become less and less effective.

“Come now. Let’s walk,” Taeyong orders.

The four of them walk down the path at a slow and leisurely pace. Taeyong keeps an arm around Jeno’s shoulders, tight enough to dissuade any escape attempts. Loose enough to not inflict pain. Taeil holds his hand against Donghyuck’s back. Perhaps it’s because Donghyuck was also trained to be a royal guard but he knows that maintaining a point of contact is important in a crowd. And the fact that his Dad hasn’t started pulling him by the ear means that they… aren’t in trouble? Isn’t that the exact opposite of what should happen here?

“Let’s go on this,” Taeyong suggests. He steers Jeno towards the queue for the miniature train ride just as the little locomotive pulls into the station.

When they board, Taeyong leads them to the back of the train so that they can have a car to themselves.

It’s not lost on Donghyuck at all that this is a thinly-disguised attempt to get Donghyuck and Jeno to sit next to each other and talk through their problems.

And Donghyuck is definitely afraid to talk through their problems.

He looks up at his Dad and at his Papa and how, seemingly subconsciously, they lean into each other as if they _have_ to share as much space as possible to be comfortable, even if the bench seat is very large and offers them ample room to sit farther apart. 

The train begins to move and the silence stretches awkwardly thin as they slowly trundle down the tracks, passing beneath thick trees and rumbling around an artificial lake that reeks of algae.

“So, like, just to confirm…” Donghyuck starts, “You two are okay with this?” Donghyuck means it as in he and Jeno being out in public, hiding royalty among common cats, sneaking off to the amusement park when Jeno probably has meetings and court appearances at the palace.

Taeyong interprets it differently. “Of course we are. Your Dad and I have actually discussed this ages ago with the King and have been impatiently waiting for you to ask us about mating bites.”

Taeil adds, “We’ve been wanting to have ‘the talk’ for a while,” complete with air quotes.

“We even discussed if it would be more comfortable if you came to us or if we just sat you down.”

Donghyuck groans. “That’s not what I--”

“How did your mating bite go,” Jeno asks. It’s the first words he’s spoken in a long time. At least he is no longer on the verge of tears.

Taeyong hums and says, “Our mating bite?” Then he looks over at Taeil with a smile.

Before he knows it, Donghyuck is leaning forward as if to hear better. He actually hasn’t heard this tale before. Has never thought to ask for it.

Taeil says, “Well, your Papa and I used to hate each other.”

“Immensely,” Taeyong adds. 

“Every time I caught a whiff of him, I wanted to fight,” Taeil laughs it off.

“We fought all of the time. I’m not talking arguments,” says Taeyong. It sounds serious, perhaps even a little dangerous, but Taeyong glances up at the orange-green sky and sighs dreamily. “I mean, we were clawing at each other’s necks.”

Jeno, at least, expresses his discomfort. “Would love some context.”

Taeil goes, “He was Captain of the Left Guard and I was Captain of the Right Guard and we were constantly in competition to see who commanded the more skilled regiment.”

Donghyuck slouches back against the bench seat. He was kind of expecting something a bit more bitter and romantic. He wanted _drama_. They should have been kittens from warring families who started some forbidden, secret romance while their families spilled blood in the streets! Or maybe Donghyuck reads too many Old Earth novels.

“Left Guard?” Jeno questions. “Right Guard? There is no such thing.”

“Oh. You were probably too young to remember,” Taeyong says. 

“When we got together,” Taeil points at Taeyong, “the King brought the royal army together too.”

“I trained the better gunmen,” Taeyong interjects.

“And I had the better martial artists. You’re not special,” Taeil fires back, but he does it with a smile on his face. 

Donghyuck looks out at the passing scenery. At the hills and rocks and flower fields. He lets himself believe he’s slipped into the pages of a children's pop-up book as he listens to his Dad go on:

“One time, Taeyong said something absolutely foul. I don’t even remember what he said. What did you say? You don’t remember either? Typical. Anyways. He said something about me that I couldn’t let him get away with so I challenged him to a judo match. Why are you laughing, Jeno, I’m telling the truth! We’re both black belts, I’ll have you know. Okay. Judo match. Right. Neither of us could gain the upper hand. Kun, the royal advisor, got fed up with watching us and--”

“‘Just bite each other already,’ were his exact words,” says Taeyong. His laughter is so light and full of life. It’s as warm as the two suns in the sky. Maybe it’s because the wind changes direction a bit but Donghyuck gets a nose full of his Papa’s scent, wildflowers and fresh mountain air, and he can’t help but shut his eyes and think of nights spent curled up on the couch between his parents while they all watch a movie.

“So we bit each other.” Taeil says. “Like, I did this really cool flip move to get him on the mat and then I just went for it. Don’t look at me like that. You know I flipped you! But yeah. I bit him and he bit me. Neither of us thought the magic would even allow it.”

“And now you’re mates,” Jeno pipes up. “Even after such a rough beginning.”

“I like to think it’s _because_ of the rough beginning,” Taeyong says.

“That was before me,” Donghyuck says, opening his eyes. He looks across the train car at his Dad and Papa and notices that they are now pressed even more closely to each other. Even though they are the same breed, their coloring is different, with Taeyong being significantly brassier in color while Taeil is a deeper, redder orange.

It’s a sad reminder that Donghyuck isn’t their biological kitten. He desperately wishes he was.

“Yes,” Taeyong says with a nod. “About six or seven planet revolutions before you became our family. We were… Well, I was twenty at the time, when the bite took.”

Donghyuck knows the rest of the story about their family. His Dad and Papa couldn’t seem to have kittens of their own even after trying everything, they said, so King Lee asked if they’d like to officially adopt Donghyuck. They were already familiar with each other as Donghyuck had been living in the palace for about as long as they’d been employed there. He was still known within the palace walls as the miracle kitten that had been magicked into the palace like a tiny little star that had exploded into existence. It was a good fit, everyone said. Donghyuck had wanted parents. Taeyong and Taeil had wanted a kitten. At least with such an arrangement, their lives wouldn’t have to be drastically uprooted. Taeil and Taeyong could still train the royal army and Donghyuck could remain Jeno’s friend and companion and, eventually, his guardian. 

“Seems nice,” Donghyuck mutters. “And no, I’m not being a smartass.”

Jeno asks them, “Was there ever anyone else you wanted to be mated with?”

Taeyong scrunches up his face. “I was never interested in that sort of thing before.”

Taeil says, “I had a little kitty crush on the neighboring moon’s ambassador who came by every month to visit.”

“Yuta,” Taeyong squeals. His eyes go wide like this is the first time he’s ever heard of this. “Yuta!?”

“Hey, he asked a question and I answered,” Taeil huffs.

They stare each other down and it almost seems like one or both of them are about to start fighting but then they simultaneously burst into laughter, like there’s an inside joke there that even Donghyuck isn’t privy to.

Jeno elbows Donghyuck in the side. “Let’s try it again.”

“Try what?” Donghyuck looks over at him, cat ears twitching. They make eye contact for the first time since getting onboard the train.

“You know what I’m about to say,” Jeno tells him.

And Donghyuck knows. He _does_ know. But he’s afraid of it so he stays quiet.

“The mating bite,” Jeno unnecessarily clarifies.

And there it is. It sits between them on the train car bench like an additional, unwanted passenger.

“You _want_ to be mated with me,” Donghyuck asks.

“Yes,” Jeno says. No hesitation. No second guessing. Just longing and desire and hope.

And, honestly, Jeno wanting to be mated with Donghyuck should have Taeyong and Taeil angry and pulling them apart but, instead, Taeil laughs and says, “Should we look away?”

“Dad,” Donghyuck whines pitifully. “I know you’ll always be on my side but like… Is this really okay?”

Taeyong stretches his arms up towards the sky and lets out a squeaky mewl. “It sounds like you _want_ us to stop you.”

“Maybe I do,” says Donghyuck quietly. Quickly.

“Why,” Taeil asks.

“Because-- Because-- Because he’s a _prince_ ,” Donghyuck sputters out.

“Do you think the magic of the bite cares about that,” Taeyong asks. 

Jeno grabs Donghyuck’s chin and turns his head so that they are looking into each other’s eyes. “Do you think _I_ care about that?”

“You don’t?”

Jeno shakes his head.

Donghyuck looks up into Jeno’s eyes. He doesn’t know why he wants this to be difficult. He doesn’t know why he can’t just accept that this will be easy and simple. It’s almost like he _needs_ roadblocks. “Don’t we have to ask your father’s permission?”

Jeno gives Donghyuck that big, fond, beautiful smile again. “What’s he going to do? Separate a mated pair?”

“Potentially.”

“Scaredycat,” Jeno teases.

And, for once, Donghyuck wishes that he wasn’t so afraid. He wants to be brave. He has to be brave. But… 

Across from them, Taeil says, “The bite doesn’t care about any of that. The bite only cares about love. Try it.”

“What’s the worse that can happen,” asks Taeyong.

“What if it doesn’t work,” Donghyuck ponders.

“What if it _does_ ,” Jeno asks. He leans forward, bringing their faces close.

Donghyuck’s heart pounds in his chest, so hard it feels like it’s going to break out of his ribcage and go sailing down the side of the hill. “I’m scared.” He’s already thinking of the future. Thinking of the thousands and thousands of possible scenarios in which something will happen and he won’t be able to protect Jeno. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“That’s never going to happen,” Jeno promises. He gently places a hand on Donghyuck’s shoulder.

“But what if--”

“Shh,” Jeno shushes him. “I love you, Donghyuck, but our life together will be so much easier if you trust me just a smidgen more.” He leans close, really close, and wraps an arm around Donghyuck's middle almost like a hug. His mouth hovers over Donghyuck’s bare skin. “Can’t you trust me? Just a little?” 

Almost instinctively, Donghyuck pushes forward into Jeno’s solidness, into his warmth. “I love you too.” It's probably the first time he's said it and meant it _like this_ and the relief that pours out of him is amazing. He positions his mouth above Jeno’s left shoulder, sharp teeth at the ready.

“On three,” Taeyong shouts as if this isn’t the most important moment of their lives. “One.”

Taeil yells, “Two.”

Donghyuck doesn’t hear either of them scream “Three!”

He’s lost in the sensation of his teeth sinking into Jeno’s skin. Of Jeno's teeth sinking into his flesh.

Donghyuck’s lost in the joy that comes with having no more fears.

Jeno tastes like peace of mind.


End file.
